Allright, hello LD4all. I’ve been a member here for a while, but to be honest I’ve been a more active member on DreamViews, another LDing website.
Now, the DV community is great, but they don’t have much information in the way of dream recall. I’ve been trying for months now to develop decent dream recall, and so far I don’t remember anything at all. I know that sounds like an exaggerated case, but seriously, I do not remember dreams ever. I’ve been trying many methods, especially using a DJ and autosuggestion techniques. No luck.
I think part of the problem was that I had severe sleeping problems, especially in falling asleep. I feel that I’ve completely overcome this obstacle; I fall asleep within 20 min every night.
So, instead of boring everybody with complaint, I’m asking for a fresh plan of attack for recalling my dreams. I want to put all my lack of success behind me. Please, somebody, I need to get past the recall stage; in the dreams that I DO remember, I know that I was either close to lucidity or actually lucid.
Here’s my basic situation: I have no problem recording my dreams in the morning. I’m not taking any supplements or vitamins, although I will if recommended. I work the night shift (10pm to 3:30am) at UPS. I go to school at 12 noon, monday through friday.
I know sometimes dream recall only comes with time, but I’ve spent more than enough time without results. I need to do something different than just suggest to myself before sleep I remember, and record when I wake. I’ve been doing these tasks since August last year. Please, I’m desperate and I willing to try pretty much anything!
I’m not sure, but maybe you should try the brain wave generator and use the self hypnosis option.
anyway, you can download it, but I can’t write the site in here… If you want it you can pm me.
@upup
I don’t see any problem - you recall dreams at morning. You easly recall lucid or close-to-lucidicy dreams. There is also another thing - if you sleep 7 hours a day, it’s normal for dreams to be short. But if you recall dream just after waking up, everything seems to be in normal.
Duck: I only remember lucid dreams because mine are extremely vivid. I only remember these dreams maybe two or three times a YEAR; normal dreams elude me. It’s hard trying to do dreamwork with this low success rate.
It seems your hours are a little difficult. Maybe this contributes to the problem. I guess there isn’t much you can do about it anyway. At least for the sake of remembering dreams it wouldn’t be worth it to give up a job or school. You could try meditating before bed. Or reading for 20min before bed. If you wish you can try vitamin B6. Maybe it can kickstart your dream recall.
I’m definately not going to sacrifice my life to remember a couple dreams, but I AM willing to make some drastic changes to my sleep schedule. Recall is a pretty high priority of mine, if only for the frustration of not being able to remember something completely natural.
I guess what I’m asking is, what strange sleep schedules have you pro LDers found effective for maximizing recall? For instance, I’m interested in adapting polyphasic sleep around my schedule. Or, I could try limiting sleep to every other day, and only in the afternoon.
Believe it or not, I actually remembered a really vivid, almost lucid dream two nights ago. I think maybe this was caused by the extreme amount of emotion (frustration) I was feeling about dreaming as a whole that day. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember ANYTHING this morning, and I woke “well” (with intention to remember, slowly, and without moving much.) I just think I didn’t wake up in REM.
First-off: I’m not an expert on dreams in any way, shape or form. However, your case sounds about the same as mine. When I’m busy with uni, I hardly ever remember my dreams. I’d say that for someone with such terrible recall, the only way to break the dry spell is to focus on dreams as much as possible. You won’t ever get anywhere by beating around the bush. You need to make a breakthrough. It’s also important to establish in your mind the significance of lucid dreaming for you. Every time I’ve done this, my recall increased exponentially from virtually nothing. My problem is, my “last push” into the dreamworld is never really the last; the “offensive” eventually fizzles out as I shift focus from dreaming to more urgent WL matters. You have got to be committed.
Here is what I’ve used to increase my recall:
WBTB, and loads of it. A plan that has worked well for me is as follows: Sleep 4 1/2 hours, wake up using alarm clock (I actually use a cellphone, discreet yet loud enough to rouse me). Don’t get up from bed. Write down dreams in DJ using keywords instead of full sentences. Also record the time. Set alarm clock to go off in 20 mins. then fall asleep with a firm intention of having a lucid dream/remembering your dreams within the next 20 minutes. Repeat every 20 minutes. It helps to feel a sense of urgency, that increases every time you fail to have lucid dream, as if you need to have a LD before it’s time to get up, as if your life depends on it. As a safeguard, have another alarm clock that goes off 6 hours after you first went to bed, just in case you “missed” the first one. When you’ve slept enough, get up, read your keywords and write the dreams down in every little detail. In my case, when I get this plan right, some of the keywords don’t ring a bell, but there’s so many of them it’s more than enough recall to keep me busy writing for at least 20 - 30 minutes. I always get it right with sufficient affirmations before going to bed, and so can you.
Passive techniques (RCs and autosuggestion). These I’ve found to be just as important as WBTB. RCs are obvious enough; By “autosuggestion” I mean the following: I have a particular attitude towards the dreamworld. The dreamworld is an untapped, bountiful paradise that exists in my mind and belongs to me alone. Because I’ve neglected it over the years, it’s managed by an entity, which may be my SC or some kind of SG or something else. Now that I want to play an active role in my dreamworld, that entity refuses to cede control. But the facts are simple: My SC, SG, and DCs are all subordinate and clearly inferior to my conscious self. With any serious effort, I can come crashing down on them and assume full command. It’s all a matter of willpower. The only thing protecting my DCs from my wrath is the black shroud that is bad dream recall. Once I’m past that one obstacle, the dreamworld is mine for the taking. Use this mindset if you have “imperialist” tendencies like me, or whatever works for you. Just remember, it’s entirely possible if you set your mind to it.
Since you recenty had a vivid lucid dream, I say cling to it like it’s your baby. Replay it over and over in your head as you go to sleep, try and recall the feeling of power and freedom and any “sensory” input. Find out what caused the dream, then do it again and again until your dreamworld’s defenses finally buckle and break and you begin remembering more dreams than you would care to record (but be thankful and write them down anyway). It’s tough to start without any recall (I’ve been there), but now the path is open to you. Exploit it.
Well, I wrote all of that down as an affirmation because I get a couple weeks off uni and can focus on dreams again. I’m about to go make the last push now, for maybe the 20th time in three years. Just wait until I get my hands on those conniving DCs…!
I can tell you put a lot into that post, so thanks. I’ll make the conscious effort of recall 24/7. As you said, this is the “last straw”!
I’ll do the WBTB. I have very rarely fallen asleep within 20 min after waking up in the past, but I am just gonna have to bite the bullet and train my body to do so. As for actually going lucid, I freakin’ KNOW that it’s gonna come consistently soon… I can just feel it.